Share

Social Anxiety Disorder

Definition

Social anxiety disorder (formerly social phobia) is characterized by persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms) that will be embarrassing and humiliating.

Prevalence of Social Anxiety Disorder Among Adults

Based on diagnostic interview data from National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), Figure 1 shows past year prevalence of social anxiety disorder among U.S. adults aged 18 or older.1

An estimated 7.1% of U.S. adults had social anxiety disorder in the past year.

Past year prevalence of social anxiety disorder among adults was higher for females (8.0%) than for males (6.1%).

An estimated 12.1% of U.S. adults experience social anxiety disorder at some time in their lives.2

Figure 1

Past Year Prevalence of Social Anxiety Disorder Among U.S Adults (2001-2003)

Demographic

Percent

Overall

7.1

Sex

Female

8.0

Male

6.1

Age

18-29

9.1

30-44

8.7

45-59

6.8

60+

3.1

Social Anxiety Disorder with Impairment Among Adults

Of adults with social anxiety disorder in the past year, degree of impairment ranged from mild to serious, as shown in Figure 2. Impairment was determined by scores on the Sheehan Disability Scale.3

Of adults with social anxiety disorder in the past year, an estimated 29.9% had serious impairment, 38.8% had moderate impairment, and 31.3% had mild impairment.

Figure 2

Past Year Severity of Social Anxiety Disorder Among U.S. Adults (2001-2003)

Severity

Percent

Mild

31.3

Moderate

38.8

Serious

29.9

Total

100

Lifetime Prevalence of Social Anxiety Disorder Among Adolescents

Based on diagnostic interview data from National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), Figure 3 shows lifetime prevalence of social anxiety disorder among U.S. adolescents aged 13-18.4

An estimated 9.1% of adolescents had social anxiety disorder, and an estimated 1.3% had severe impairment. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria were used to determine impairment.

The prevalence of social anxiety disorder among adolescents was higher for females (11.2%) than for males (7.0%).

Figure 3

Lifetime Prevalence of Social Anxiety Disorder Among Adolescents (2001-2004)

Statistical Methods and Measurement Caveats

National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R)

Diagnostic Assessment and Population:

The NCS-R is a nationally representative, face-to-face, household survey conducted between February 2001 and April 2003 with a response rate of 70.9%. DSM-IV mental disorders were assessed using a modified version of the fully structured World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI), a fully structured lay-administered diagnostic interview that generates both International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, and DSM-IV diagnoses. The DSM-IV criteria were used here. The Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) assessed disability in work role performance, household maintenance, social life, and intimate relationships on a 0–10 scale. Participants for the main interview totaled 9,282 English-speaking, non-institutionalized, civilian respondents. The NCS-R was led by Harvard University.

Survey Non-response:

In 2001-2002, non-response was 29.1% of primary respondents and 19.6% of secondary respondents.

Reasons for non-response to interviewing include: refusal to participate (7.3% of primary, 6.3% of secondary); respondent was reluctant- too busy but did not refuse (17.7% of primary, 11.6% of secondary); circumstantial, such as intellectual developmental disability or overseas work assignment (2.0% of primary, 1.7% of secondary); and household units that were never contacted (2.0).

National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A)

Diagnostic Assessment and Population:

The NCS-A was carried out under a cooperative agreement sponsored by NIMH to meet a request from Congress to provide national data on the prevalence and correlates of mental disorders among U.S. youth. The NCS-A was a nationally representative, face-to-face survey of 10,123 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years in the continental United States. The survey was based on a dual-frame design that included 904 adolescent residents of the households that participated in the adult U.S. National Comorbidity Survey Replication and 9,244 adolescent students selected from a nationally representative sample of 320 schools. The survey was fielded between February 2001 and January 2004. DSM-IV mental disorders were assessed using a modified version of the fully structured World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

Survey Non-response:

The overall adolescent non-response rate was 24.4%. This is made up of non-response rates of 14.1% in the household sample, 18.2% in the un-blinded school sample, and 77.7% in the blinded school sample. Non-response was largely due to refusal (21.3%), which in the household and un-blinded school samples came largely from parents rather than adolescents (72.3% and 81.0%, respectively). The refusals in the blinded school sample, in comparison, came almost entirely (98.1%) from parents failing to return the signed consent postcard.